Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1403381
cannabis patient care | vol. 2 no. 2 cannabissciencetech.com 6 from the editor c a n n a b i s patient c a r e ® | a u g u s t 2 0 2 1 | v o l 2 • n o 2 Megan L'Heureux Group Editorial Director How Cannabinoids Are Changing Treatment Regimes for Seizure Disorders WELCOME TO THE third issue of Cannabis Patient Care! The focus of this edition is seizure disorders. I must confess that when I first thought of the idea for this publication, I was heavily influenced by the pediatric patient stories I heard at various conferenc- es over the years. When I first entered the cannabis industry about 6 years ago my focus was mainly on the analytical testing side of things—quality control, best practices for laboratories trying to test cannabis, and so forth. Those topics are still a big focus for my other publication—Cannabis Science and Technology. However, at every conference I attended I would find myself drawn to the medical cannabis talks. I would sit and listen to doctors, nurses, parents, and often patients themselves share these incredible success stories of how medical cannabis changed their lives or improved their child's quality of life. I was always blown away, and occasionally in tears, by these sto- ries. Those talks also always left me wondering why more people didn't know about medical cannabis as a treatment for so many ailments. Thus, the seed for Cannabis Patient Care was planted, so to speak, and our mission to share patient stories and help educate medical professionals and patients continues. I am honored to bring you several pediatric caregiv- er stories in this issue as well as insight from Dr. Bonni Goldstein who treats pediatric and adult patients with medical cannabis. Dr. Goldstein discusses her obser- vations about how cannabis can "move the brain for- ward," explaining how she has seen it help some of her worst seizure disorder patients who had severe devel- opmental delays begin to advance developmentally while using cannabis medicine (page 8). I had the priv- ilege of speaking with Matt Figi, Charlotte Figi's father. Matt discusses Charlotte's journey to finding help with cannabidiol (CBD), working with the Stanley Brothers on Charlotte's Web, and her enduring legacy in the medical cannabis community (page 12). We also spoke with Jari Sugano, who is the caregiver for her daughter MJ in Hawaii (page 34). Sugano shares some unique in- sight on being a caregiver in Hawaii and how medical cannabis has helped her daughter. On the adult side, we connected with two epilepsy patients—Vanessa Jones and Deborah McCauley—who shared their stories about finding relief with medi- cal cannabis (page 18). Jones discusses how canna- bis gave her some control over her epilepsy and im- proved her quality of life. McCauley's path to cannabis began as a medical mainstream insider—an RN turned patient—who gained more insight as she changed the treatment for her seizures from the usual pharma- ceutical regimen to cannabis. Janna Champagne, BSN, RN, shares her unique ex- pertise as a cannabis nurse (page 22). Champagne has supported epilepsy patients through education, resulting in reduced use of antiepileptic drug (AED) pharmaceuticals. On the research side of things, our new regular contributor Ruth Fisher, PhD, offers a high-level overview of what is going on in her article titled "A Brief Overview of the History, Efficacy, and Safety of Cannabis for Epilepsy" (page 26). Advocacy continues to play a huge role in patient access to medical cannabis, as exemplified by C.J. Carter's work in Kentucky. "The State of Cannabis in Kentucky: A Story of Cannabis, Epilepsy, and Advocacy" (page 30) highlights Carter's own use of medical can- nabis for epilepsy and how he turned that need into a call to action as the Kentucky State Director of Mi- norities for Medical Marijuana. Finally, we spoke with Pepper Hernandez, a board-certified holistic health practitioner and the CEO and founder of the Cannabis Holistic Institute, who has suffered from an epileptic disorder since the age of 19 (page 36). Hernandez also took her medical cannabis experience and turned it into a passion for helping others find wellness. On August 31st, we will be hosting a 90-minute e-symposium featuring a presentation from Janna Champagne and a patient-focused panel discussion with Deborah McCauley, C.J. Carter, and others. Please join us for this free event and learn more about how cannabinoids are helping treat patients with seizure disorders: https://bit.ly/3iOYRLp. Enjoy this issue and I hope to see you August 31st!